Pro Mods? Threat level?

Discussion in 'Pit Buzz' started by Will Hanna, Jun 2, 2003.

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  1. Grant Hensley

    Grant Hensley New Member

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    In response to Will Hanna’s response to Mike Eubanks

    Let me first say that your personal bias towards top alcohol cars has seriously skewed your view of reality. It isn’t a bit of a stretch to say pro mods are more popular than the alcohol cars. It is the downright truth. For you to try to draw any sort of comparison between Pro Mod cars and super gas cars is totally absurd. Comparing 9.90 cars to 6.20 (and even faster) cars is ludicrous. Maybe you should expand your horizons and go to an IHRA national event. After watching it first hand, there will be no doubt in your mind as to which is the more popular class. Deciding that Pro Mod popularity should be gauged based on a NHRA poll is way off base as well. Very few people want to see baby fuel cars run down the track. Massive amounts of people love to watch the fastest door cars on the planet! I think it is about time for you to re-evaluate your product and start realizing what it is truly worth. What you are selling, most people aren’t buying.

    I haven’t spoken with you in a while Will. I hope you are doing well physically and I also hope you haven’t developed some sort of mental illness. I am a bit concerned.

    Grant “The Agitator” Hensley
    Just another wanna be Pro Super Gas Racer
     
    #21
    Grant Hensley, Jun 23, 2003
  2. Will Hanna

    Will Hanna We put the 'inside' in Top Alcohol
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    grant,

    great to hear from you. while you got your doors all in a wad, the pro super gas mention was just a joke.

    for you to call my opinion biased is the pot calling the kettle black. you're just one of those left wing liberal pro mod guys... :D

    all bs aside, and you can go back to one of my old no shake zone columns, where i discuss how there is two types of drag racing fans basically - fuel car fans and door car fans. the fuel car fans outnumber the door car guys, and thats the 'down right truth' or pro stock and pro mod would headline the nhra series. i'm not denying the fact that pro mod has a fan base, i just think calling it larger than that of the people that watch the alcohol cars is a bit of a stretch. most people that enjoy watching the fuel cars enjoy and follow the alcohol cars. its like pro and college football. pro stock is kind of like golf and pro mod is kind of like hockey. its a cool game, rough and wild, but not as big as football.

    if watching the 'fastest door cars on the planet' had or has the massive fan draws you illude to why is it a typical outlaw pro mod race will only bring 1000-2000 people? wouldn't they flock to an event in droves if this was the case. i also remember the outlaw p/m race yall tried at houston. little to no fan turnout, and that race was even advertised on the houston rock station and had people from the station at the track.

    what i'm getting at, yes pro mods are cool. yes pro mod races at small tracks are a good thing. they bring a reasonable fan draw at an affordable price to the track owner to do it every couple months. to say they are more popular than top alcohol cars is stretching it. i'll prove you wrong on this.

    besides real race cars dont have doors grant.... :D
     
    #22
    Will Hanna, Jun 23, 2003
  3. ROF

    ROF Top Dragster

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    Yea... watching the Chicago PRO MOD show on TV last night was very exciting. How many made full passes? That show was very typical of the Pro Mod shows that I have witnessed. Maybe the Pro should be changed to Sportsman then when you watch something like that on TV again you won't feel like you have been cheeted out of 30 min. of your time.

    Why are the FC entries down? They turned back the blowers and all the IHRA guys still didnt come over and the NHRA guys decided enough was enough.

    GIVE BACK THE OVERDRIVES and watch how many come back.
     
    #23
    ROF, Jun 23, 2003
  4. was R4K

    was R4K Member

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    when it comes to pro mods- I like the pretty paint!
    I don't like the ultra high cost of mid 6 to low 7 second race car.
    Bottom line is- I love all race cars from carts to F1 even if my passion is Alky Cars (somehow, I think a pro mod is sort of an alky car) ;)
     
    #24
    was R4K, Jun 23, 2003
  5. Grant Hensley

    Grant Hensley New Member

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    To Will:

    First off, let me say that my doors are not in a wad. They work just fine like the doors on real race cars should! I think your analogy trying to compare drag racing classes to football and other sports is weak. It does not apply here!

    If football is so popular, then why do the stands empty when the college teams hit the field at the drag strip?

    I would also like to disagree with your statement that there are two types of drag racing fans basically - fuel car fans and door car fans. I am very much a fan of Top Fuel Dragster and Fuel Funny Car and Pro Mod. There are basically three different body styles and these three classes are the loudest and fastest of each. As for two wheel vehicles, I also love Nitro Harleys for the very same reason.

    If alcohol cars are so popular, why is there such a poor spectator turn out at NHRA divisional events? I like watching pro and college football. I love watching fuel cars.
    I (along with the vast majority of other people) don’t care a thing about watching alcohol cars. I am not trying to be mean or hateful. I just like conveying the truth.

    Good luck trying to prove me wrong. In all your efforts, please don’t be foolish enough to try to book an alcohol race anywhere close to an Outlaw Pro Mod Race. The Outlaw Pro Mod Schedule is pretty full so make sure to choose your date very carefully!
     
    #25
    Grant Hensley, Jun 24, 2003
  6. Will Hanna

    Will Hanna We put the 'inside' in Top Alcohol
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    grant,

    you must be reading and believing too many of those ams press releases. to hear you talk, pro mod is the Holy Grail of drag racing... :D

    you dodge my questions about pro mod turnouts, then make statements not based on facts, but rather your own personal opinions.

    why poor turnouts at divisionals? lack of promotion and scheduling. events that are promoted properly do get crowds. the dallas divisional had over 3/4 of the pit side grandstands full on saturday and sunday. you would have to stack them people on top of each other if they were at most of the tracks the outlaws run. the divisional at no problem brought in over 5000 a day. many of the divisional events that are run at national event tracks are run about a month before the national, which really screws the divisional for fan turnout. why do fans want to pay 25 a day to go see a div when the national event they have to save money to go attend will be a month later and get to see the same cars? other tracks just don't promote their races. they make enough at the back gate off entry fees they dont need a crowd.

    i go to alot of national events, and i see just as many fans leave the stands, if not more than when the alcohol cars run. i wish you would have been there in columbus during tad qualifying. packed house, and you could hear them cheering during burnouts.

    if pro mod was bigger and better than the alcohol cars, why are the lucas tv shows getting prime time slots now? now alcohol racers are starting to become household names among drag racing fans.

    once again, let me reiterate pro mod has its spot in drag racing. its a cool class with some cool cars. they are popular, no doubt about it. for the alcohol cars to be as popular as they are with as little promotion as they get, really says alot about their popularity. you can go to any major drag racing message board, and some of the hottest topics are alcohol racing related.

    once again, i challenge you to answer my question: if pro mods were such the fan draw you say, why don't their immense fan following drive in from near and far to watch your outlaw pro mod shows? the reason why yall have as many shows as you have is the payout for one of your events is alot cheaper than what it costs to bring in 8 quality top alcohol cars. your cars are slower, so they can stop easier on some of the tracks, plus being suspended, you can brake harder w/o bouncing.

    as far as being afraid to book an alcohol show close to a pro super gas race, be careful what you wish for. i'd really hate to put a dampner on one of your events...but then again while i pull the local crowd, you'll still have your road trippers coming in all the way from fargo, north dakota to watch the 'fastest door cars on the planet'... :D

    grant, instead of fighting it, why dont you ditch the pro super gas ride and buy a REAL alky funny car instead of the wanna be one? :eek: then you could say you had a real race car! :cool:

    and before you get your doors and suspension bars all tangled up and in a wad...know i'm just messing around wit ya.. :D
     
    #26
    Will Hanna, Jun 24, 2003
  7. Kingnitro

    Kingnitro New Member

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    Grant, I think the Mostly all blown PM class has alienated a lot of their fans. I know, I've met some. The appeal of the Pro mod class from the early 90' was the blown vs NOS rivalry, that seems to be in tank even with this new rule change. The Paintjobs and names Is why I think the PM's have such a following. Now if the alky cars would pick up on that concept.
     
    #27
    Kingnitro, Jun 24, 2003
  8. ROF

    ROF Top Dragster

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    Grant ol buddy....you obviously don't spend any time in the grandstands with the spectators, because if you did you would be disapointed like a good majority of them are after watching a Pro Mod show. Pro Mods are promoted as THE greatest show earth. In reality it is not much of a show at all. The paint jobs on SOME of the cars are incredible, but the only thing exciting about a Pro Mod is the burnout. At least 1/3 of them don't make it down the track. I have heard spectators say over and over again "Thats it". Before you start calling TAD/TAFC a worthless show take a REAL CLOSE LOOK at your own product from the grandstands, you just might change your mind.
     
    #28
    ROF, Jun 25, 2003
  9. Outlaw Nick

    Outlaw Nick Top Dragster

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    Hi Will!

    How've you been? Hope you've been doing well.

    Interesting topic. I myself don't really see any threat to Alcohol classes. There will always be a place for Dragsters and Funny Cars. As for being more popular than Pro Mods, well a glance at the calendar at ProModifieds.com will show you that, on a weekly basis, more tracks are drawing more fans to see fast doorslammers than with anything else. I don't know any better way to gauge popularity than to count the fans in the stands.

    Take care Will and keep up the great work on this site!

    Nick
     
    #29
    Outlaw Nick, Jun 25, 2003
  10. Grant Hensley

    Grant Hensley New Member

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    Will and F-O-R:

    First I would like to say that I didn’t intend to dodge anything. It is not my style. The TX Outlaw P/Ms race almost every weekend at different tracks. The cost to watch is $15 to $20. There is usually very good turnout when considering the cost to watch and the fact that only one class (Fast Doorslammers) is putting on the show. At Texas Raceway last Friday night, the place was packed at $20 per head. This happens every month at that track. So our followers don’t feel the need to save up to go to a show next month and miss this month’s show.

    As for not spending much time in the stands F-O-R, your assumption is totally incorrect. As for Outlaw P/M, I spent 2001 and 2002 in the stands and I loved hearing please talk about how bad A$$ the shows are. As for National IHRA races, I have always been in the stands (for approximately 10 races). People go nuts watching the P/M’s run. The alcohol Funny Cars are the ones that the people are disappointed with. If the P/Ms run before the Funny Cars, when the P/M’s finish, the stands start clearing out to see what the PM’s are doing in the pits. If the P/M’s run after the Funny Cars, the stands are usually pretty full for the Funny Cars, because the fans don’t want to miss the P/Ms.
     
    #30
    Grant Hensley, Jun 26, 2003
  11. Grant Hensley

    Grant Hensley New Member

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    F-O-R

    FYI, I am not promoting a product. I don't get paid to arrange a show or organize anything. The only money I see is when I do well racing.
     
    #31
    Grant Hensley, Jun 26, 2003
  12. ROF

    ROF Top Dragster

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    Grant- would you agree that a Pro Mod show has alot of aborted runs...if aborted runs are a good SHOW then Pro Mods put on a good SHOW...Im trying not to bash Pro Mods per se I just don't feel that they put on as good of a SHOW as promoters advertise...but I don't feel that watching a Fuel show is worth watching when they smoke the tires either...
     
    #32
    ROF, Jun 27, 2003
  13. Will Hanna

    Will Hanna We put the 'inside' in Top Alcohol
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    nick-

    there are bracket races too every weekend.. does that neccessarily make it a better show?? its an affordable show for the track, so thats why you see more volume. right now, pro mods are probably about the fastest thing you will see at most of the tracks yall run. thats what we are bringing to the table with the alcohol show. - a faster show with big names.
     
    #33
    Will Hanna, Jun 27, 2003
  14. Grant Hensley

    Grant Hensley New Member

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    What is the real story?????

    I just went out to the NHRA’s website to see if any results were posted from the national event in St. Louis, Missouri this weekend. Top Alcohol Dragster and Top Alcohol Funny Car are not a selection on the results menu page. Are the Alcohol classes not running this weekend or has the NHRA simply wised up and realized that no one cares about seeing Alcohol car results? The Pro Mods are definitely a selection on the results menu!!!!!!
     
    #34
    Grant Hensley, Jun 27, 2003
  15. Will Hanna

    Will Hanna We put the 'inside' in Top Alcohol
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    yea right grant....st louis is an odouls race.....non alcoholic.
     
    #35
    Will Hanna, Jun 27, 2003
  16. Grant Hensley

    Grant Hensley New Member

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    Did you go look at the NHRA results page? Neither Alcohol class is listed! This is not a joke. What is the real scoop? One would think that you good folks at insidetopalcohol.com might know what is going on! Am I wrong to make that assumption? Is this NHRA's way of communicating that the alcohol classes are going to be dropped?
     
    #36
    Grant Hensley, Jun 27, 2003
  17. 310TAD

    310TAD Top Alcohol

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    Grant,
    The alcohol cars are not contested at St. Louis again this year, so that NHRA could take the money from that and 5 other events to raise the alcohol purse at the remaining 16 National events.
    On the other hand, NHRA refused to pay any purse for the promods, and if it weren't for your series sponsor (can't remember their name), you wouldn't see promods at the big shows. I don't blame NHRA for accepting a free show. It's worth that. LOL
    I'm not worried about the TA/D and TA/FC classes. These are pure race cars that will be here for the real racing fans for years to come. The circus acts come and go, and command alot of curiosity for awhile, but it's not about who can pile on the most flourescent paint. It's racing.
    I'm done.
    Marty
     
    #37
    310TAD, Jun 27, 2003
  18. Will Hanna

    Will Hanna We put the 'inside' in Top Alcohol
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    grant:
    this is our second season of running 16 national events. i thought you were just throwing a joke about not seeing tad/tafc listed.

    tell em marty!

    ps everyone, there is a few people talking about us over at texasoutlawracing.com
     
    #38
    Will Hanna, Jun 27, 2003
  19. Kingnitro

    Kingnitro New Member

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    Grant, any class that runs after the Fuel cars will be greeted with Emptying Stands! Look at first round at any Natl. event, the Pro stocks come up after the Fuel cars and it's Grand central station!
     
    #39
    Kingnitro, Jun 27, 2003
  20. ROF

    ROF Top Dragster

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    GRANT...please answer a question for me....is a SHOW considered good if 1/3 of the passes are aborted??? and do you AGREE or DISAGREE that Pro Mods abort 1/3 of the runs they attempt???

    I just checked your stats on the NHRA website Grant...lets see 21 cars show up and 9 of them make respectable passes...

    Ya know GRANT... WWF was very entertaining for awhile too... nuff said!!!

    [ June 27, 2003, 09:02 PM: Message edited by: F-O-R ]
     
    #40
    ROF, Jun 27, 2003
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